A brand new initiative aimed at inspiring more women to ride their bikes was launched today. 

Strongher – fronted by the likes of multiple World Champion Marianne Vos and British Downhill hero Manon Carpenter – went live today. The on and offline campaign replaces earlier initiatives #WeOwnYellow and #TakeTheStage.

As well as events, story sharing and advice, Stongher provides women with an app which can be used to organise and share rides. Women can advertise rides they plan to go on, and share Strava files from their adventures on two wheels.

The app can be downloaded for Android and Apple devices and was celebrated in glamorous fashion – accompanied by shimmering red and black sequins and champagne.

The app and platform is just as much about encouraging beginner cyclists as it is about shining a light on the activities of the pro riders they look up to.

Vos expained: “Women’s cycling is getting more and more popular and as the sport is growing more initiatives are being developed. The time is right for women’s cycling to take the stage and close the gap to the men, Strongher will be this stage. We want to increase the exposure of all the professional athletes and reveal the people and characters of the sports.

“We want to give amateur women the confidence they need to start racing, developing events and other grassroots initiatives, inspiring women to take up cycling for the first time and giving everyone the belief they can achieve and giving them a stage to show themselves.”

National Time Trial Champion Alex Dowsett was also in attendance to support the launch – he said members of the male peloton were just as keen to see equality and didn’t understand why more organisers could not put women’s races on in tandem with men’s.

He expressed his support for women’s only rides, where women could learn the ropes in a less intimidating atmosphere away from the ‘Old Boys’ in cycling clubs – who he did add were ‘dying off’.

An enthusiastic crowd gathered to support the new campaign, filling Old Street’s coolest cycling cafe with a buzz and enthusiasm for the seasons to come, and the growing face of women’s cycling.

Check out the short promo film about the campaign: